Anyone Dealing with an OLD Dog - It Dosen't Look Good, Anytime Now

[michickenwrangler]

My dog is 12 now. She's getting creaky in her joints--though the vet says she's in excellent shape for a dog her age--and her teeth are going bad. Over the last few years, a few have abcessed and have been pulled, and now they're starting to get bad again. She's been incontinent for a few years now and we have her on Proin to help control it. She picked up fleas this fall and for some reason, they have been harder to get rid of than ever before. I hate using the chemicals, but I know they're making her anemic, and I know the chemicals are harsh on her, but ...

The next major health issue she has will be her last. She has lived an excellent, happy, beloved life and I'll miss her terribly, but she's at a point where I don't want her to be in pain anymore.

Blaze, my lab/husky, has lived nearly all of her life on 5 acres of woods and a pond, with squirrels to chase and state land at the end of the road with river access. Most dogs don't have it so good.

 

[dela1991]

Quote:
We have been using Neutricks since September for Ajax. I kind of feel that she was too far gone as far as dementia goes for anything to help. I wondered if it would have been better to start before she really started showing signs that she had lost all of her marbles. Not to say that she doesn't have good days on occasion. My husband came home yesterday after being away from home all week for his job and he thought that Ajax looked terrible. She was kind of listing to one side. She was very agitated last night and it took a while for her to fall asleep. Even after her tranquilizer. Today she seems to be a little better. I don't know if the good days are related to the Neutricks or not.

Do you give her Tramadol for her tranquilizer? Jessie takes them at night to help her sleep, otherwise she stays up all night whining............

She gets 10MG of Acepromazine at about 8pm every night. The first time we gave it to her, she slept for 36 hours. We thought we had killed her. Now, it just about gets her through the night. She usually has to exhaust herself. She walks around the house till she falls asleep on the floor then we put her in her crate. I was up with her till 12:45 am this morning and then she was ready to go at about 7am when my dane got up.

 

[oldchickenlady]

I have a 16 year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever that is having difficulties getting up, wandering, etc. 2 days ago she started limping badly on her left front leg. She is a house dog. Then it seemed that she was favoring both legs on the left side, so I thought it might be a stroke. I am waiting to see if she improves any before this coming week before I make any decisions about ending her suffering. The bad thing about this is that I live with my 86 year old mom, who is losing her eyesight and is pretty frail herself...it upsets her to see Delta struggling to get up, etc when I am at work. I am afraid she will hurt herself trying to help the dog get up (even though I have told her not to try to get her up, she forgets or worries about it). Anyway, Delta seems to be limping less this morning, so hopefully I won't have to make this decision right now...I hope not, because Delta has been my 'daughter' for almost 17 years now (I had 3 boys).

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

Quote:
I agree that she should be seen by her vet. She may need some antibiotics. Also, she may not feel that she has to urinate until it's too late. There is medication for incontinence that is inexpensive, I give it to one of my elderly dogs. Your vet is allowed to suggest anything he/she wants, doesn't mean you are obligated to take his/her advice. The decision is yours when the time comes. I believe she probably does have some dementia so your patience and love is what she needs right now. Sounds like she's getting lots of both from you! This part of loving a dog never comes easy.

 

[NellaBean]

I just about run a retirement home for pets. 2 old geezer cats and 2 old geezer dogs. Toby is probably the most "elderly" at nearly basically 14 years old and 75lbs. I've had him since he was 3 months old!

He often looks like this.

He is covered in tumors (you can see the one on his back leg and the lump behind his shoulder) over his entire body. Dozens of them. Starting to lose weight. Heart murmur. Doesn't have great control of himself (although he usually can hold it for 10+ hours while I'm at work...just when he needs to go, he needs to go NOW). Chronic diarrhea bouts.

But he still has these moments (its a video, click on it)


I don't expect he will see 2013, but he has lived a long great life. I adopted him from the local kill shelter at 3 months old and he has slept in my bedroom his entire life. Nicest dog that ever lived. Not a mean bone in his body. His best friend is Bella, my old geezer toy poodle. They stay in a crate together all day and just love each other. She will be devastated when he goes (she is pretty old but should still have a few years left)

 

[hlf1996]

I have three dogs at the moment Buddy (6), Jesse (4), and Ramona (1). We got Ramona (border collie) after my Jack russell Terrier mix died. Her name was Jamie, she was 10 years old. She had a tumor on her nose and had to be put down. The last couple days I had with her I tried to not be sad (she hated it when I was sad) and I spoiled her. Took her on car rides (her favorite) and let her sleep on her favorite spot (the recliner chair) she was having trouble getting on to the chair, so I would have to lift her. I don't think I could ever be with out a dog, they are too special.

Here is my oldest baby Buddy:

Here is Jesse:

Ramona:

Jamie: